Victor Laury

Here's a photo of Victor's "El Cheapo" Cold Air Induction! Whataya think?

Geez, I hope not! "Keeping quiet" cause I do too much endorsements. People will think I'm "(insert any vendor's name here) Little Whore". With my Z car, as I did with my roadster before, I try to deal as evenly with all the vendors as I can. Spread the wealth. We need these folks in buisness. But too much is too much, and I contained myself from writting the day I got the flyer "OH MY GOD! DID YOU SEE WHAT MSA IS SELLING??!??"

Alan, In hindsight, in the present company, I'd give your opinion more warrant. But consider that very few HLS30's were sold to sports car people, consider if, that demographic was not Nissan's North American target group. Then, the "softer" fittings makes all the marketing sense. Consider if Nissan's target audience was 25 ~ 40, mainly women who wanted "Sporty" "Stylish" "It" car. Yes, I'm stating it clearly, the market wasn't "Knowledgable or Sophisticated" at all! Please! nobody call foul. I'm NOT talking about Sports car people. When normal folk see my roadster, they say "AWW! What a cute car!". They would never understand, and think my sports car as "junk" after one pass over a poorly paved rail crossing. You're not going to sell millions of units if they drive like sports cars! Not here! The mainstream N.A. market paid no attention at all to SCCA racing. It wasn't even televised. That, small segment of the market, sports car fans, were not prominent enough to "stiffen" the true sports nature of this car. That option was totally aftermarket and those of that ilk knew of the Nissan Competition Catalog. Submitted into evidence, the progression of the North American S30 and the subsequent models, S130, Z31, Z32. Softer, plusher, Factory AC fitted, power windows, power-friggin-anything. America, taken as a whole, wanted a stylish Grand Tourer. Nissan quite successfully responded to the wants of the market. Luckily for us, the fire breathing beast, hidden in silk robes is not hard to expose! From it's first year out, a tweak here and there, you've met the JDM/Euro/Aussie/ spec. A little more massage and you've exceeded it.

Yep, I've been keeping quiet on the new parts. When I got the new flyer, I nearly jumped of of my seat! I'll be sporting the new fuse box post haste. I can't justify the radiator, as my car runs nice and cool as is. Can't see any reason for the aluminum driveshaft other than bragging rights and way too "Tastfully Modifed Stock" for the chrome catch/overflow cans. Oh well, one more stock fuse box into my spare parts horde! Dam, If I kick the bucket anytime soon, can I get one of you guys to get rid of the tons (really, plural) of Datsun parts?

Yep, FLCL is Fooly Cooly. A wild ride, six episodes long with Haruhara Haruko, an alien from another dimension, who rides a yellow Vespa and swings a mean bass guitar. She'd fit right in the Douglas Adams classic, you quote in your signature line.

That's tough! My last 72 was the Brown/Butterscotch combo, and I had no-luck-at-all finding them. When I disassembled the rear panels, I found enough of them to cover most of the obvious spots and used the black ones in the lowest and hidden ones. Try our new Vendor - MidWest Z. Mahaps Chole has a secret stash! Hey! Now your'e "I found a Z"

Astro-Glide (sorry, just trying to live up to my new icon)(it says "Beware - Perverts") Do they sell Castrol in Kiwi-land? My engine is a well broken in re-build so I'm running full synthitic (Mobil 1). I don't know if this is true, but I've been told when selecting a multi-viscosity, It's wiser to choose one with the varibles close together (a 10W30 over a 5W40 for example). I'm using a 10W30, but that may not be the best choice for you. It's fairly warm, year-round here in sunny SoCal, But, I hear it's gets downright cold in New Zealand in your winter (Now, right?)

I tried to look it up over the weekend, but the ad was gone. I may have missed. "May", cause sometimes the ads drop off and the owners will put it up again. This is crazy. I don't need another car! I need a truck. I was saving the other car option for that "Perfect" 510 or 1200 coupe. But, the logic is, This car was cheap enough to play with. Get it running and then .... Knowing me ..... fall in love with it and spend way too much.

What's your VIN Number? S-30? HS-30? I believe (others will be sure) that the S-30's came with the L-20A and the HS-30's came with the L-24. Yes, your 5 speed box is the same (kinda) as the 2L Roadster (SRL311, SR311). The difference is the bell housing (starter on the other side), the main shaft (longer) and the tail housing(ditto). Good box, but parts are getting scarce.

Lance's advice works. It's the same as my father instructed me 30 years ago. Advance the timing untill it pings under acceleration, then retard it untill it will only ping if you bog the engine down in high gear. I've been using this rule on cars where the scale just doesn't seem right. I have my Roadster club guys over from time to time for my help with tune ups. Every so often a car will pop up that WILL NOT RUN with normal timing adjustments, which leads me to believe something wasn't set up right during an engine re-build. Using my Dad's formula for these "hard cases" has worked so far. Garret, if your car isn't pinging like crazy with the total advance "well over" 35 degrees BDTC, I say the scale was funky. Find you self a hill, advance the timing till it starts to ping, then retard it till it stops. Old fashion? Yep. Hard to track your adjustments? Yep. Works? Yep.

Michael and Lachlan, I'm following your discussions with great interest. Since we never got these cars in the U.S. , It's all new information. These cars were L-6 powered classic Datsuns and I consider them "On Topic". Michael, I hope your budget can include the Solexs and the 5 speed swap! What a sweetie you'll have after those modifications! Take lots of photos.

Hey! FerGo! when did you get here? Gotta get you a Z my man! You might even fit into one!

The greeting art is O.K., But, I really liked the Tee Shirt! I was going to buy one before it was pulled.

Turn Faster

Garret, I don't know how your site escaped me up to now. Good read good photos, Good dam job! Inline6's site

Yep, the inner fenders had to go to make room for the turbo plumbing.

Ron Hamilton of Arizona is a well respected pioneer of high-powered engine swaps for Datsun Roadsters. I've always considered his RCKSHP, a 1967 roadster with a Turbo charged FJ-20, his flagship. I have rode in the passenger seat, and the impressions of my finger tips are probly still there, under the seat, where I was hanging on for dear life through one of Ron's "Power Runs". If anyone is interested in a 300hp Datsun Roadster, it's being advertised on the CDM cars for sale page. Or click here

That's a pretty good write up. I have the 79-83 N/A ZX dizzy on my 72. I did not have the Tach problem, But others with the SAME set up, do. I must admit, it a big improvement! Cold start, and top end performance.

The Village Idiot asks good questions. 1 & 2) I'd say that your observations confirm you need to clean the tank! 3 & 4 & 5) the sending unit is not hard to remove and replace, especially while the tank is out. I would not expose the sending unit to anything other than gas, which is nasty enough! I'd stay away from acid treatment altogether, as I belive it will cause you more grief in the future. This is one of those tasks you really don't want to do twice. I know everytime someone asked about tanks, I suggest Tank Renu service. You guys might think they pay me or something. Nope. They impressed me with their warrenty. With service like that, It's worth a little more for a gas tank for life.

M 2 cents follow Heaters are worth the hassle. Heaters are worth the clutter. I think even race cars should keep the heater/demister. It's less of a car without one. Even here in sunny California, You leave to get to the car show early in the morning. That heater may not be needed later in the afternoon, but now it makes driving comfortable. Have you seen my engine compartment? I hate clutter/Love simplicity. I make sure the heater fits into that plan.

Too cool! Except, on the Arabic one, they made the rear quarter panel look too much like a Triumph GT-6

Ok, see the photo? The top wrench is a 14 mm. it's on the "Stud", witch is threaded into the head and it's height sets the pivot point for the follower. The lower wrench (17mm) is on the "Lock" witch jams the stud in place. To adjust, loosen the lock, whilst holding the stud still. Raise or lower the stud to set the clearance between the heel (base circle of the cam and the lash of the follower. Oh, and remove the guide spring on the follower before trying to adjust, as it gets in the way. Needle-Nose pliers does good job at this. (Be sure to put them back when your done!) Now, here's the trick. As you tighten the lock back down, you'll inadvertently close the gap a little. Learning how to "Feel" the Feeler gauge is beyond my wordsmith skill to describe. Second problem is, as the engine cools the adjustment changes. If you start with a hot motor, the first few valves end up being far different to the last few you set. I've developed the habit to adjust the valves twice. Once through, then, bring the motor back up to temp, then adjust again in reverse order.